Fife Constabulary and Fife Police Authority 
Best Value Audit and Inspection

Prepared for the Accounts Commission and Scottish ministers
September 2012

The Accounts Commission
The Accounts Commission is a statutory, independent body which, through the audit process, requests local authorities in Scotland to achieve the highest standards of financial stewardship and the economic, efficient and effective use of their resources. The Commission has four main responsibilities:
•	securing the external audit, including the audit of Best Value and Community Planning
•	following up issues of concern identified through the audit, to ensure satisfactory resolutions
•	carrying out national performance studies to improve economy, efficiency and effectiveness in local government
•	issuing an annual direction to local authorities which sets out the range of  performance information they are required to publish.
The Commission secures the audit of 32 councils and 45 joint boards and committees (including police and fire and rescue services).

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland
HMICS operates independently of police forces, police authorities and the Scottish Government and exists to monitor and improve the police service in Scotland. HMICS does this on behalf of the Scottish public by:
•	monitoring, through self-assessment and inspection, how effectively the police service in Scotland is fulfilling its purpose and managing risk
•	supporting improvement by identifying good practice, making recommendations and sharing our findings in order to achieve better outcomes for Scotland’s communities
•	providing advice to Scottish ministers, police authority and joint board members and police forces and services.
Even though HMICS is independent of the Scottish Government, ministers can call upon the Inspectorate to undertake particular pieces of work.

Commission findings
1.	This is the eighth audit and inspection report on the performance by a police authority and force of their statutory duties on Best Value and Community Planning. It has been produced jointly by the Controller of Audit and Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland. The Accounts Commission accepts the report from the Controller of Audit on the Fife Police Authority. In accordance with the Commission’s statutory responsibilities, these findings relate only to the Best Value audit of the police authority. 
2.	The Commission finds that Fife Police Authority is effective and demonstrates most of the characteristics of best value. There is particular strength in the vision for community policing shared by the authority and force. Ownership of this vision is enhanced by a good understanding of roles and responsibilities by the members of the Police, Fire and Safety Committee. The Commission welcomes the positive impact that the accountability framework has had on working relations between the authority and the force. The Commission emphasises that it is important that such impact is maintained in the transition to the new Police Service of Scotland.
3.	The Commission notes that there is room for improvement in the scrutiny of the force. The authority needs to be clearer about the performance information and support it needs to fulfil its best value responsibilities, including in relation to cost, equalities, sustainability and the force’s improvement and community engagement activities.
4.	The Commission also notes the replacement of the Police, Fire and Safety Committee by the new Police Transition Committee. The positive momentum which is apparent in the Controller of Audit’s report needs to continue. This is to ensure the effective contribution to, and preparation for, the new national policing arrangements while at the same time continuing to improve effectiveness in overseeing the force. 
5.	The Commission gratefully acknowledges the co-operation and assistance provided to the joint audit and inspection team by the elected members and officers of Fife Council, the chief constable and officers of Fife Constabulary, and other officials and community planning partners.
6.	The Commission welcomes the joint approach with Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland on these police audit and inspection reports, and the significant contribution that this is having to stimulating more effective and streamlined scrutiny and to driving commitment to securing best value.

HM Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland findings
1.	As Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland, I hold a statutory responsibility to inspect both Fife Constabulary and Fife Police Authority. I concur with the Accounts Commission findings on the Best Value and Community Planning performance of Fife Police Authority and offer the following comment on the performance of Fife Constabulary. 
2.	My overall assessment of Fife Constabulary is that it is performing well and that the force demonstrates many of the elements of best value. The force executive’s long-term strategy in support of its vision of taking policing closer to the community is being delivered through the force community engagement model. The force has maintained police numbers while at the same time embarking on a significant change programme to manage a reduction in the police budget. Overall crime rates continue to fall and detection rates are rising. 
3.	Within the context of that good performance there remains some scope for continuous improvement. In particular, I would highlight that: 
•	there is room to improve the way local community priorities are communicated internally 
•	the force could work more closely with the committee to improve performance reports by providing more contextual information on exceptions, comparative data with other forces or organisations; information on the diversity of the workforce and the cost of activity to assist in meaningful scrutiny and allow the committee to consider value for money
•	the force could improve its commitment to openness and accountability by publishing force performance and policy group minutes timeously
•	although overall performance is good and crime continues to fall, there is scope for the force to take further steps in relation to increases in reported domestic abuse and hate crime where improvements in reporting and recording should provide a platform from which to begin to make progress.
4.	I also wish to acknowledge my gratitude for the co-operation and assistance afforded to the joint audit and inspection team by the chief constable, officers and staff of Fife Constabulary, the convener and elected members of Fife Police Fire and Safety Committee, the Fife Council chief executive and staff providing support to the police authority, and other officials and community planning partners. 
5.	I look forward to receiving a plan from Fife Constabulary and the Police Transition Committee which addresses the improvement agenda set out in this joint audit and inspection report. 

Introduction
This joint report is made by the Controller of Audit to the Accounts Commission under section 102(1) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and by Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary for Scotland (HMICS) under section 33 of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967.
The Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 introduced new statutory duties relating to Best Value and Community Planning. Its provisions apply to local authorities, including police authorities, and require specifically that: 
•	councils and police authorities secure best value (defined as achieving continuous improvement in the performance of functions)
•	police authorities and chief constables participate in the community planning process.
The Act also amended the audit arrangements set out in the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 to cover Best Value and gave powers to the Accounts Commission to examine Best Value in police authorities. HMICS has a statutory duty under section 33 of the Police (Scotland) Act 1967 to inspect police forces and common police services, and to report to ministers on their state and efficiency. The 2003 Act extends this to include provision for HMICS to inquire into and report to Scottish ministers on whether a local authority is carrying out its functions both as a police authority and in relation to a number of matters including Best Value.
The 2003 Act is supported by more detailed statutory guidance on Best Value and Community Planning, and a series of advisory notes on specific topics such as elected member leadership. This guidance is designed to be descriptive rather than prescriptive, defining the goals that organisations should aim for but allowing them local discretion on  the methods and routes they use. The Scottish Government has issued further guidance for police authorities and forces. This guidance includes Justice Department Circular 11/2003 Best Value Guidance, and Guidance for Members of Police Authorities and Joint Authorities, June 2007.
The scope of Best Value and Community Planning is broad and the guidance and statute indicate that a successful police authority will:
•	work in tandem with the chief constable to develop a clear set of priorities that respond to the needs of the community in both the short and longer term
•	be organised to support the delivery of these priorities 
•	meet, and clearly demonstrate that it is meeting, the community’s needs
•	operate in a way that drives continuous improvement in all its activities.
Similarly, a successful police force will:
•	work with its partners and the police authority/police authorities to develop a clear set of priorities that respond to the needs of the community in both the short and longer term
•	be organised to deliver these priorities
•	meet, and clearly demonstrate that it is meeting, the community’s needs
•	operate in a way that drives continuous improvement in all its activities.
The key objectives of this joint audit and inspection were to:
•	assess the extent to which Fife Constabulary and the police authority, as discharged through the council’s Police, Fire and Safety Committee (PFSC), are meeting their duties under the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 and complying with Scottish Government guidance
•	agree planned improvements with the local authority, force and the PFSC, to be reviewed by external auditors and HMICS.
As Best Value and Community Planning encompass a wide variety of activities, it is not realistic to audit or inspect everything in depth. For this reason we planned our detailed work in two ways:
•	We considered the force structure in detail to ensure the audit and inspection took account of the different contexts and policing demands.
•	We selected certain aspects of the force’s and authority’s performance for detailed investigation. We used a wide range of sources, including the force’s and authority’s own assessment of their performance, reports issued following external audit and inspections, and the Scottish Policing Performance Framework (SPPF) to assess risks and scope our work to inform this selection. 
Our joint report reflects this proportionate approach, with detailed commentary in some areas and more limited coverage in others. Our main audit and inspection work was conducted in March and April 2012. The report includes a corporate assessment of the authority and the force, while the performance assessment covers only the force.
References to post-holders in the authority and the force and to committee and other structures are to those in place at the time of the audit and inspection, in March and April 2012. 
We gratefully acknowledge the cooperation and assistance provided to the team by Councillor George Kay, Convener of Police, Fire and Safety Committee; Norma Graham, Chief Constable of Fife Constabulary; Ronnie Hinds, Chief Executive of Fife Council, and all other elected members, police officers and staff involved. We are also grateful to the community partners who participated in the audit and inspection. 
The tripartite arrangements and police authorities’ leadership role
The force is governed through a tripartite arrangement between the chief constable, the police authority, and Scottish ministers. As the force covers only one local authority area, the authority carries out most of its functions through a committee of the council. Scottish ministers have responsibility for national policy on law and order as well as the power to regulate on various policing matters including pay and conditions. The police authority is responsible for setting the police budget, holding the chief constable to account and ensuring that best value is achieved. The chief constable is responsible for the operational aspects of policing within the force area.
The effect of these arrangements is that the authority and the chief constable, although they have different roles, must work in tandem to achieve best value. In this report, we make judgements only on the authority and force, but all parties to the arrangement, including the Scottish ministers, have responsibility for the overall performance of the police service.
The existing guidance for policing (Circular 11/2003 and Guidance to Members, June 2007), sets out expectations of the authority. More details can be found at Appendix 1 of this report. 
More general information about the best value characteristics and a series of toolkits which organisations may find helpful in reviewing their approach to best value are available on Audit Scotland’s website.
Police reform
In June 2012, the Scottish Parliament passed the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Bill, which will create a single Police Service of Scotland (PSoS) and a single fire and rescue service. The Bill abolishes the existing unitary police and fire authorities in Dumfries and Galloway and Fife and the six joint police and joint fire boards. It provides for the creation of a new corporate body, the Scottish Police Authority (SPA). The national force will be created in April 2013.
Following the local government elections on 3 May 2012, the new Police Transition Committee (PTC) in Fife Council is responsible for overseeing the force through the transition to the PSoS. 

Summary
Overall conclusions
1.	Fife Council discharges most of its police authority responsibilities through its Police, Fire and Safety Committee (PFSC). The PFSC and Fife Constabulary (the force) work well together and demonstrate strong commitment to the shared, overarching vision of ‘taking policing closer to the community’. This strategy aims to make communities safer and stronger with less fear of crime and is being delivered through an effective community engagement model. This has ensured the vision and aims are well understood at all levels with a genuine pride in working for the force and doing the best for the people of Fife. Overall, the force is delivering a good level of service to communities in Fife, especially by reducing crime and antisocial behaviour and, most notably, by increasing detection rates where it outperforms most other Scottish police forces.
2.	Following a period where there had been some difficulties in working relationships between the council and the force concerning governance, and in response to previous audit recommendations, an accountability framework was agreed in 2010 between the police authority and the chief constable. This clarified and confirmed respective responsibilities and supported improvements in the way business is conducted. It is important that this progress is maintained in the new council structures following the May 2012 local government elections and in the transition to the PSoS.
3.	The PFSC demonstrates a good understanding of issues affecting local policing in Fife and members support the community policing approach in their local areas. However, the PFSC needs to take a more strategic view of the force’s activity, its oversight of community safety and the overall impact and effectiveness of the community policing model.
4.	The PFSC receives good information on force performance but needs to be more proactive by specifying what further context and analysis it requires to scrutinise performance in more detail. The PFSC also needs to provide direction as to the cost and performance information it requires to assess value for money and to do more to direct and monitor the force’s continuous improvement activities. The PFSC provides limited oversight of the force’s progress with equal opportunities and sustainability. 
5.	The force has worked closely with the PFSC to develop members’ awareness of policing and issues affecting Fife. The PFSC and the force need to build on this and develop existing reporting arrangements, to facilitate more in-depth scrutiny of force performance and its progress against the best value characteristics, and to enable the PFSC to consider value for money. 
6.	The force is performing well and demonstrates many of the elements of best value. The force executive’s long-term strategy in support of its vision of taking policing closer to the community is being delivered through the force community engagement model. The model is producing real benefits, with good examples of the force using different means of trying to reach out to all communities. There are some additional aspects of the internal communication of local priorities that could be improved upon. 
7.	The community policing structure is very effective. The seven local chief inspectors under one divisional command structure has engendered a ‘competitive but supportive’ approach to managing performance. Partnership arrangements at a strategic and operational level are working well with many examples of effective practice. The youth offender management group and the overall approach to management of young offenders is good practice that has had positive impact. 
8.	Overall crime rates continue to fall and detection rates are rising. However, the force should continue its work to improve performance relating to the submission of cases to the procurator fiscal, as well as taking further steps to reduce the occurrence of domestic abuse and hate crime where improvements in reporting and recording provide a platform from which to make progress. 
9.	The governance and project planning arrangements for the force efficiencies programme are exemplary. The use of process re-engineering, along with the involvement throughout the process of the convener, has delivered a successful change programme that has maintained police numbers and delivered savings in the police budget. The fact that this is now being used to take the force through to the PSoS demonstrates a strong commitment to reform, while at the same time avoiding any negative impact on ongoing policing services.
10.	The audit and inspection team has taken into account that the Scottish police service is going through a period of major change following the Scottish Parliament’s decision to create the PSoS in April 2013. We recognise that this is a significant challenge for the force in terms of maintaining service delivery, while at the same time preparing for re-structuring. However, it is important that the PFSC focuses its challenge and scrutiny to ensure that police services remain effective, make the best use of the resources allocated to them and are accountable to local communities.

Part 1. Context
The local context
11.	Fife is a unitary police service, which means that it shares its boundaries with one local authority, Fife Council (the council). The council and the force are also aligned to a single Community Planning Partnership (CPP) and share common borders with the fire and rescue service and NHS partners. 
12.	Fife covers 1,325 square km between the Forth and Tay estuaries. The population of around 367,370 predominantly reside in a number of large towns including Glenrothes, Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy, Lochgelly and Methil. Fife also has rural areas, particularly in North East Fife. 
13.	Fife’s communities range from those of relative affluence, such as St Andrews and its surrounds, to some areas of significant deprivation. While the area overall has just over five per cent of the most deprived areas in Scotland, approximately one in five areas in Fife is classed as deprived. It also has a rising population, with increases in the number of children and older people predicted to exceed national trends. The changing demographics of the area will change the demands on services, including policing.
Fife Police Authority
14.	Fife Council is a unitary police authority; Dumfries and Galloway Council is the only other local authority in a similar position. All other authorities in Scotland have joint board arrangements with neighbouring authorities.
15.	Fife’s police authority functions are delegated in most part to its PFSC, which is responsible for police and fire and rescue services as well as environmental safety. The council as police authority retains responsibility for specific matters including the approval of the police budget. The appointment of the chief constable, the deputy chief constable and the assistant chief constable falls within the remit of the appointments subcommittee of the council’s Policy, Finance and Asset Management Committee. The PFSC has 15 elected members and one non-voting member nominated by NHS Fife, and meets every six weeks.
16.	The PFSC has a number of police-related subcommittees. These are the police complaints and discipline subcommittee; police pensions subcommittee; chief police officers’ remuneration subcommittee; and senior police officers’ conduct subcommittee. In 2009, a PFSC scrutiny group was set up to make more time for scrutiny of service performance.
17.	Revenue expenditure in 2011/12 was £61.4 million, £2.5 million less than budget, and the capital budget was £2.2 million. The police service core funding is 51 per cent by grant funding provided by Scottish Government and 49 per cent by Fife Council, with additional funding provided at the discretion of the police authority. 
18.	Fife Council has seven area committees. Force representatives support these committees through regular attendance at meetings. The area committees serve the following areas: 
•	Dunfermline
•	Cowdenbeath
•	Glenrothes
•	Kirkcaldy
•	Levenmouth
•	North East Fife
•	South West Fife.
19.	Following the local elections in May 2012, Fife Council has a new political administration. Under the new administration, policing responsibilities of the PFSC transferred to the Police Transition Committee (PTC) which will oversee police services until March 2013 and the creation of the PSoS. The new committee is made up of 15 elected members. A new convener and vice-convener have been appointed to the PTC and the council is taking steps to ensure that consequential amendments are made to governance documents to reflect the new arrangements. 
Fife Constabulary
20.	The force is led by the chief constable, supported by a senior management team which is made up of the deputy chief constable (DCC), an assistant chief constable (ACC), the head of finance, head of human resources and the head of media and communications. The chief constable has overall responsibility and is accountable to the PFSC for the effective and efficient policing by Fife Constabulary.
21.	As part of its efficiencies programme, Fife Constabulary has recently moved from a three-division structure to two. These are responsible for the delivery of and support to policing services, namely Communities Policing Division and Corporate and Specialist Services Division. As at March 2012, the force had 1,104 police officers, 109 special constables and 421 members of police staff. 
22.	The Communities Policing Division has responsibility for all first response and local community policing within the force area. The force took the forward-looking and innovative step of aligning local policing areas to the seven Fife Council local areas. Overseen by chief inspectors, this restructuring saw relationships develop with Fife Council local area services managers. It is designed to maximise resource allocation and working practices under local area community safety coordinating groups and to increase service delivery capacity among partners. (Exhibit 1).

Part 2. Corporate assessment
Vision and strategic direction
Fife Police Authority
The PFSC actively engages with the force to develop the vision and strategy for policing in Fife and demonstrates strong commitment to community policing. The PFSC endorses the strategic plan but needs to make its contribution to setting the strategy more visible to the public.
23.	The force’s strategic plan 2011–15 sets out a clear vision based on ‘taking policing closer to the community’. The strategic priorities which support this vision were developed in consultation with the public, other elected members and partners in both the public and private sectors. The strategic plan informs the annual policing plan which sets out the operational activities that contribute to the delivery of strategic priorities.
24.	PFSC members actively engage in developing the force’s strategic plan, mainly through their attendance at private briefing sessions and development conferences. While the PFSC endorses the plan at its public meetings, the underlying contribution which its members make in developing the strategy is less visible. As a result, evidence of the influence which the PFSC brings to bear on the force’s strategic priorities based on elected members’ deep understanding of the needs of local communities is limited. 
25.	In putting the strategy into effect, elected members from the PFSC participate in local events and discussions to promote the overarching vision of ‘taking policing closer to the community’. Their involvement in local meetings, for example, helps demonstrate to local communities that the PFSC and the force work together to deliver the shared vision for policing in Fife. 
Fife Constabulary
The force has a clear vision and strategic direction, which is informed by communities, partner agencies and members of the PFSC. The force’s vision of ‘taking policing closer to the community’ underpins all activity. The four strategic priorities outlined in the force’s strategic plan set out how the force aims to achieve its vision and support the Scottish Government’s objectives to make Scotland wealthier and fairer, stronger and safer, greener, smarter and healthier. The plan is widely communicated by force leadership and is understood by staff, partners and the wider community. 
26.	The force shares a common vision with the PFSC of ‘taking policing closer to the community’. The strategic plan 2011–15 sets out the force’s strategic priorities of: tackling crime; being there for the community; creating safer communities and building on success. The policing plan 2011–15 (Exhibit 2) details the force’s priorities for the delivery of the strategic objectives. In March 2011, the force moved from an annual policing plan to a longer-term four-year plan with an annual refresh. The annual review is informed by widespread consultation with local communities and partner agencies and consideration of emerging national and local issues. The force has identified 12 policing plan priorities for 2012/13 in partnership with the PFSC. These cover both outward-facing operational priorities and internal business support priorities. All of the operational priorities are clearly articulated within the force’s control strategy and this helps to ensure that they are communicated clearly and consistently to staff. 
27.	The format of the plan is deliberately short and simple to make it easier for all to understand and remember. We found that those charged with delivery demonstrated a clear focus and understanding of their mission in Fife. The force has made good use of marketing and communications techniques, such as a reproduction of the policing plan in a business card format for use by staff and the public to ensure that priorities are communicated effectively throughout the force area. This strengthens the understanding of strategic priorities at a local level and helps to ensure that the force directs operational activity and resources towards priority areas. The priorities are also clearly highlighted on the force’s website www.fife.police.uk and are easily accessible to members of the public.
Governance and accountability
Fife Police Authority
Following a period where there had been some difficulties in the working relationships between the council and the force, an accountability framework was agreed in 2010 which clarified and confirmed respective responsibilities and helped improve relationships. The PFSC needs to maintain and build on this in the transition to the new single police force. The PFSC also needs to be more proactive in scrutinising force performance.
28.	Previous audits identified the need to clarify the governance arrangements and the responsibilities of the council as police authority, the PFSC and the force. Following some difficulties in working relationships between the council and the force relating principally to governance, the PFSC and the force worked together to develop a new governance framework for policing in Fife. After detailed discussions, revised arrangements were approved by the council in June 2010 and an accountability framework between the council as police authority and the chief constable was approved by the PFSC in September 2010. 
29.	The accountability framework clarifies and confirms the respective roles and responsibilities of the council, the PFSC and the chief constable. In particular, it sets out governance and scrutiny arrangements, including those relating to budgets and internal audit. The framework helped improve the way in which business is conducted and working relationships between the PFSC and the force are good. The convener of the PFSC, in particular, demonstrates a strong commitment to his role and a clear knowledge and understanding of strategic issues facing the force and the police service more widely in Scotland.
30.	The steps taken have improved elected members’ understanding of their role but, similar to other police authorities, uncertainties remain about the boundary between legitimate areas of interest of the police authority and the operational autonomy of the chief constable. Greater clarity, including practical examples, would improve elected members’ confidence in their role, particularly in scrutinising force performance and holding the chief constable to account. 
31.	While the accountability framework has supported improvement, the PFSC needs to ensure it is meeting its delegated functions in full. For example, there was no evidence that the PFSC had contributed to the development of the internal audit programme on matters within the jurisdiction of the police authority (ie, non-operational policing matters). There was also limited evidence of PFSC members determining the topics of reports from the chief constable in relation to particular policies and strategies.
32.	The PFSC has a wide and varied remit and is responsible for police and fire and rescue services as well as public protection, which includes a range of functions such as consumer and public safety, public health and emergency planning and civil defence. This means that its members benefit from a broad understanding of the context for services and community safety overall. However, Fife Council should consider whether the current structure is best suited to securing best value and ensuring continuous improvement across the range of the PFSC’s responsibilities, taking account of the imminent national changes in police and fire and rescue services. 
33.	Administrative support for the PFSC works well and contributes to good governance. However, the PFSC has no additional support and would benefit from independent, professional policy advice and analysis. This would help elected members deal with the volume and variety of the issues it is required to consider and would support more focused and challenging scrutiny of force performance.
34.	In recognition of the time constraints associated with its wide remit, the PFSC established a separate scrutiny group which is chaired by the PFSC convener and comprises all members of the PFSC. While private sessions are required to consider sensitive matters and minutes of the scrutiny group are presented to the main committee which is held in public, the PFSC needs to assess whether all items considered by the scrutiny group need to be in private. As matters stand, a significant part of the PFSC’s activity in scrutinising force performance and holding the chief constable to account takes place in a forum which is not always visible or open to the public. 
35.	The complaints subcommittee provides oversight of complaints and allegations about the conduct of police officers. It meets regularly and reviews a number of randomly selected closed complaint files. This allows members to gain a good level of assurance about the rigour and effectiveness of the force’s complaint handling.
36.	Briefing sessions are well attended, provide elected members with a detailed understanding of policing issues, and improve their awareness on wider issues, eg the workings of the criminal justice system. While the PFSC has been proactive in identifying its training needs, the overall approach needs to be more systematic and structured, particularly in the post-election period. Elected members who are asked to oversee the police service will need to get up to speed quickly so they are fully equipped to perform their police authority duties during the transition to the PSoS.
Fife Constabulary
The force governance structure provides effective scrutiny and oversight of force activity. Performance reporting, change and risk management are embedded and incorporated into the corporate planning process. The force provides regular performance updates and additional briefing and training on operational matters to the PFSC. Performance reports are made available to the public via the force website. 
37.	Governance arrangements have developed over the last 12 months following the efficiencies and reform programme. The six-weekly Force Policy and Performance Group (FPPG) is now the force’s main decision-making and accountability body. The group comprises the force’s chief officer team and senior leaders and considers a wide range of force activity including overall performance, organisational change and budget monitoring. Senior officers are given strategic and tactical responsibility for priority theme areas. Seven community chief inspectors have responsibility for delivering operational performance in their areas. This strengthens ownership and understanding of priorities throughout the force.
38.	The force’s two divisions, the Communities Policing Division and the Corporate and Specialist Services Division, are each led by a chief superintendent. They are responsible for the delivery of and support to policing services. The Communities Policing Division has responsibility for all first response and local community policing within the force area and is subdivided into seven local areas, aligned with the local committee areas, and each headed by a chief inspector.
39.	The force has an effective approach to risk management and the strategic risk register describes all risks identified, risk owners and control measures. This is refreshed annually and is monitored throughout the year to ensure that it is fit for purpose. During 2011, a high-level audit of the force risk management process by Fife Council Audit Services concluded that Fife Constabulary was ‘risk managed’ and takes an enterprising approach to risk management, which is developed and communicated effectively. 
40.	Governance is supported through business and continuous improvement plans, which enable the force to monitor progress against all activity. These are overseen by the deputy chief constable and coordinated and managed by the continuous improvement unit. While the force has reported on risk management to the PFSC it does not routinely provide updates on continuous improvement. It would be mutually beneficial and assist the scrutiny process if the PFSC was provided with more information on the continuous improvement plan. 
41.	The force has an effective approach to complaints recording. In August 2011, an audit of Fife Constabulary’s complaints recording processes by the police complaints commissioner for Scotland assessed the force as ‘full assurance’, the force having a ‘sound system of control designed to achieve the system objectives’.1 This is the highest level of assessment and was given because the force’s initial recording of complaints about the police was considered to be robust. 
42.	The force looks carefully at complaints data using analysts to look for trends involving individuals, teams and areas of the force. The force has recognised recent rises in quality of service complaints, but no discernible issues were identified, although in some cases a number of heads of complaint were emanating from single incidents. That said, analysis has helped the force to identify weak supervision and management and the learning is made available to support improvement. 
43.	Force performance data is available to members of the public on the force’s website, where force-wide and divisional quarterly performance monitoring reports appear in their entirety. Performance is covered in more detail in Part 3 of this report. The force has some force executive meeting minutes published on its website, although none have been added since February 2011. The force could improve its commitment to openness and accountability by publishing force performance and policy group minutes in a timely manner.
Community engagement
Fife Police Authority
Members of the PFSC demonstrate a good understanding of the issues affecting their local communities and actively support the force’s approach to community engagement. However, the PFSC needs to take a more strategic oversight of community engagement across the force.
44.	Members of the PFSC are strongly committed to the force’s community engagement model and regularly attend local community engagement meetings arranged by the force. PFSC members are also involved in other community-based work including community councils. These activities help build strong working relationships between elected members, chief inspectors and community police officers at local level. As a result, elected members have a deep awareness and understanding of their local communities’ policing priorities and needs. They are also well placed to contribute to the overall strategy for policing and wider work designed to improve community safety across Fife. 
45.	Area community safety coordinating groups report to the Fife-wide Community Safety Partnership (CSP) and to the council’s seven area committees. The area committees operate differently to suit local circumstances and there is some variation in the content and frequency of the local policing performance reports they receive, eg some area committees receive police performance reports at every meeting and others receive them annually. As a result, some elected members will have a better insight into the local policing challenges and communities’ needs than others. 
46.	While the PFSC contributes to the vision for policing in Fife and actively supports its implementation, it needs to provide more oversight of the overall effectiveness of the community policing model. The progress, key challenges and improvement areas identified in the seven local area community safety coordinating groups are reported to Fife’s CSP, but the PFSC also needs this information to assess the overall impact and effectiveness of the community policing model. 
47.	The PFSC has identified that it needs to do more to identify and disseminate good practice arising from the application of the community engagement model so that it is available for consideration and use across all the communities it serves.
Fife Constabulary
The force’s vision is based on developing a style of policing that addresses the needs of its different communities. The community engagement model has sought to involve all communities in identifying and addressing local priorities. To achieve its vision the force has evaluated and developed a range of approaches to address the barriers to public participation in community engagement activity. There is clear involvement of staff, partners and PFSC members in community engagement and the approach as a whole is working well.
48.	The force’s vision of ‘taking policing closer to the community’ articulates a clear commitment to engaging with communities with a view to allowing direct influence on local policing. The community engagement model gives members of the public the opportunity to become involved in local policing issues. Community policing teams are now deployed in 64 identified ‘beat’ areas throughout Fife. In each of these areas the officers hold bimonthly community consultation meetings and, in partnership with the local people, identify their top three local priorities (Exhibit 3). The community engagement meetings are at the heart of community policing in Fife and are well publicised on the force’s website. Updates on the action taken by the police to address community priorities are added to the website to inform the public of the force’s response. 
49.	The force continues to develop this approach and is determined to engage with all communities (Exhibit 4). Having recognised that attendance is often low at meetings, the force has adopted a number of measures to broaden engagement including promoting meetings in different venues, eg supermarkets, DIY stores, schools and credit union offices; direct contact with over 450 different minority communities; and wider use of social media. This innovative approach to broaden engagement is considered to be an example of good practice. Between December 2011 and April 2012, the force increased its Facebook following from around 2,600 to nearly 4,000 and Twitter followers from 1,700 to 2,600.
50.	During interviews with frontline staff in focus groups, we found a good understanding of force priorities and of the community engagement model. However, there was little evidence of coordinated communication of community priorities. We found that staff knew that community priorities were listed on the force’s website but there was no process to ensure that operational officers and contact centre staff were actively involved in addressing local community priorities. This presents missed opportunities for police resources to assist in addressing priorities. 
51.	During this inspection we took the opportunity to attend a shift briefing, observe the layout of muster rooms, speak to officers and observe the shift briefing system. It was evident that community priorities are not routinely communicated or tasks allocated to address issues. The force’s briefing system is a good means of informing officers of current intelligence and contains a means of tasking that could be used to direct more resources to priority areas. 
52.	The force has highlighted the need to focus resources to address community priorities not only from an internal perspective, but also among partners. An enhanced community engagement model is to be trialled in the Levenmouth area. This aims to better align resources with community priorities and build capacity to help deliver Single Outcome Agreement (SOA) objectives. The trial will be subject to an independent review by the Scottish Institute for Policing Research (SIPR).
Partnership working and community leadership
Fife Police Authority
PFSC members have a good understanding of partnership working in Fife through their involvement in area committees and other council-related activities. However, as a committee, the PFSC needs to develop its approach and better define its role in police-related partnership working.
53.	Fife Partnership Board is the CPP for Fife and one of its main objectives is to make Fife’s communities safer. This work is driven by the Fife CSP and progress is monitored through the Fife SOA. The SOA provides baseline performance information and a commitment to improvement under the headings: less crime and fear of crime; less antisocial and nuisance behaviour; less abuse of women and children; and fewer injuries and losses of life in homes and on the roads.
54.	Elected members on the PFSC have a good understanding of partnership working arrangements from their involvement in the council’s wider work, in area committees and in community engagement work in support of the policing strategy. However, they are less clear about how the PFSC links into the established partnership working arrangements and how it should oversee partnership activity involving the force and its contribution to community safety.
55.	The Fife Partnership Board and its subgroups, including the CSP, are officer led. The PFSC acknowledges that it needs to ensure increasing emphasis on the force’s wider community planning activity. The PFSC also needs to clarify its role in partnership working. Elected members who are also members of the PFSC attend CSP meetings, but there is some uncertainty over the capacity in which they attend and whether they have a responsibility to report back to the PFSC. 
56.	Clarity is also required as regards the role of NHS Fife’s director of public health, who sits on the PFSC as a non-voting member. His involvement supports and demonstrates close partnership working with the health board and adds value to discussions in the PFSC. However, there is no clear explanation as to what the PFSC expects from this arrangement, or what is expected from the individual in this role in terms of policing matters.
Fife Constabulary
The force maintains effective working relationships with partners and is achieving positive local outcomes through partnership working at both a strategic and local level. The ACC leads partnership activities as chair of the CSP; the partnership has a clear vision, objectives and measures to ensure effective collaboration.
57.	The Fife CSP is well established with a commitment to continuous improvement that has been successful in a number of key outcome areas, including reductions in crime and antisocial behaviour, meeting challenging road casualty targets and reductions in persistent youth offending. The partnership comprises a number of agencies bound by a local information sharing protocol committed to working together to achieve improved outcomes for the community. 
58.	At a strategic level the force’s partnership activity is led by the chief constable, who chairs the Fife Partnership Executive Group (FPEG) on a rotational basis and sits also on the Fife Partnership Board. The FPEG is a multi-agency group, which oversees the work of outcome theme lead officers and partnership groups responsible for coordinating the partnership’s work. Fife’s community plan and SOA are the focus of the group’s work (Exhibit 5). Matters are brought to the attention of the PFSC through the Partnership Board, eg community safety strategy and community planning developments.
59.	The ACC leads community safety activities as chair of the CSP which reports to the FPEG. The partnership completed its first joint strategic assessment in 2011. This identified priority areas and informed the revised community safety strategy 2011–15 and the recent review of the CSP structure, which saw the number of main substituent groups reduced to two: Prevention and Early Intervention, and Service Delivery and Engagement. 
60.	Production of the joint strategic assessment and subsequent strategy has involved wide consultation with community and partners and has involved elected members. The strategy sets out how partnership resources aim to work together to achieve community safety outcomes. Partnership arrangements in Fife are working well at the strategic level.
61.	There are strong connections between partnership working at a strategic level and in local areas. At a local level partnership activity is delivered by local area community safety coordinating groups. These are currently chaired by the area chief inspector, although it is intended that this will be shared among other partner members in the future. The coordinating groups report to the Service Delivery and Engagement Task Group. In practice, this means that high-level outcomes are communicated and local groups have discretion as to how these are delivered. We found many positive examples of partnership activity involving both the CSP and the community, including: 
•	The ‘Equally Well’ project in Kirkcaldy that tackles antisocial behaviour and underage drinking. 
•	The safe transport scheme, providing safe transportation across Fife. 
•	The multi-agency risk assessment conference (MARAC) approach to domestic violence, providing support and preventive measures to victims and holding perpetrators to account.
•	Community Speed Watch involving local residents in speed reduction activity.
•	The Youth Offender Management Group that has reduced significantly the number of young people entering the criminal justice system. 
62.	Local area committees, on which all members of the PFSC sit, provide an element of scrutiny and accountability for partnership activity. Each of the seven policing area chief inspectors report on activity and performance, although the style and frequency of reporting varies according to the requirements of the local committee. A Local Community Safety Fund provides grant funding towards local projects to reduce crime and antisocial behaviour, and provides reassurance to the community, with over 50 projects having benefited during 2010/11.
Performance management and improvement
Fife Police Authority
The PFSC receives force performance reports, but needs to be more proactive in directing the information and analysis it requires to support stronger scrutiny of force performance and value for money. The PFSC also needs to do more to monitor the force’s continuous improvement activity and to demonstrate how the police authority is meeting its best value responsibilities.
63.	The force provides quarterly performance reports to the PFSC. The reports are structured around the priorities in the policing plan and include a wide range of SPPF and other performance measures. However, performance reports tend to be data heavy and would benefit from more contextual and comparative information, such as:
•	the reasons for changes in performance and progress towards targets, particularly in priority areas such as domestic abuse
•	comparisons across the policing areas in Fife, including in relation to customer satisfaction, and with other police forces.
64.	As with other police services and local authority services generally, information on the cost of the police services in Fife is limited. Elected members need robust cost and performance information to help them assess value for money.2 
65.	Members of the PFSC acknowledge that they need to provide more direction to the force in terms of the performance information the committee needs and the areas it wishes to review to fulfil its scrutiny role more effectively. Overall, the PFSC recognises that it needs to be more proactive and intends to identify areas for scrutiny based on its consideration of improved Police Objective Analysis information on force priorities, performance and efficiency.
66.	The PFSC does not provide sufficient direction or oversight of the force’s improvement activities. The accountability framework states that the PFSC has an obligation to ensure continuous improvement in the performance of the force, but there is limited evidence of activity, other than the PFSC’s oversight of the force’s efficiencies programme. The force has recently established the Continuous Improvement Unit which is working to develop the comparative data available to PFSC members to improve scrutiny of force performance. The unit will also provide a focus for the PFSC to request reports which would allow it systematically to scrutinise the force’s improvement work.
67.	There is also limited evidence to show how the PFSC prioritises improvements in its own performance. The PFSC identified areas that it wishes to develop in its joint submission to the audit and inspection team and acknowledged the need to focus its activities in the transition to the PSoS. 
Fife Constabulary
The force’s performance reporting arrangements are well structured. There is effective performance management at all levels throughout the organisation that links clearly to force priorities and has achieved results in terms of reduced crime, improved detection rates and efficient services. Individual leaders have clear responsibility for driving performance and performance information is being used to drive continuous improvement. Performance reports focus on policing priorities but tend to be data heavy. They would support scrutiny and public performance reporting more effectively if they included more contextual information explaining the activity behind the performance data. 
68.	The force has a robust approach to performance management, which is well embedded within a defined governance structure. Performance is a standing agenda item at force level six-weekly Force Policy and Performance Group, monthly Tactical Tasking and Coordinating Group (TTCG) and divisional weekly meetings. Each meeting considers performance against force targets and priorities and ongoing initiatives. 
69.	At a local level, each of the seven chief inspectors is responsible for delivering performance in their respective areas. During the inspection we noted a strong sense of ‘supportive competitiveness’ between the respective areas with each eager to outperform the other while also keen to share good practice and be mutually supportive. This arrangement has undoubtedly contributed to the success of the community policing model in Fife. Each chief inspector holds a daily management meeting attended by community, response and CID supervisors. The previous day’s incidents and crimes are reviewed to identify trends or gaps in service delivery. Any remedial action or tasking is monitored via the force briefing system, which provides an easy means of ensuring tasks are completed satisfactorily. The daily area meetings feed into a daily divisional meeting that assists in identifying force trends and resource issues. This then feeds into the formal force performance framework. 
70.	To support the force’s approach, comprehensive monthly performance reports are produced. These are structured around the four ‘pillars’ of the force’s policing plan with clear links to national indicators identified within the SPPF. The force’s annual report 2011/123 sets out the force’s achievements against the four pillars of the policing plan in terms of performance data and summaries of key activity that contributed toward the performance outcomes. 
71.	Performance reports contain a comprehensive range of indicators, but tend to be data orientated. The force recognises that reports could be improved to assist in meaningful scrutiny and the continuous improvement process. The force’s continuous improvement plan has activity aimed at achieving a transparent, accurate and relevant performance reporting framework. This should include more contextual information on exceptions; comparative data with other forces or organisations, where current data permits; and information on the cost of activity. 
Use of resources
Fife Police Authority
The council, the PFSC and the force work together in setting the force’s budget and in monitoring police finances. The PFSC has good arrangements for overseeing force finances, but its scrutiny of other aspects of the force’s strategic resource management is underdeveloped. 
72.	At the start of the budget process the council’s executive director (finance and resources) identifies the anticipated resources against which budgets are to be developed. The force prepares a needs-based budget and engages with the PFSC convener to outline its plans. Discussions then take place between the force and council’s finance staff, before a joint report by the chief constable and executive director (finance and resources) is submitted to the PFSC who recommend it to the council for approval.
73.	While the convener is involved from an early stage and PFSC members attend a private briefing session arranged by the force, there is limited evidence of scrutiny and challenge prior to the PFSC recommending the budget to the full council. The PFSC needs better knowledge and understanding of the budget to enable stronger scrutiny and challenge, both at the budget setting process and when it considers budget monitoring reports during the year. 
74.	To ensure tight control over the budget and to avoid any misunderstandings between the force and the council about the force’s financial position, budgets and spending are monitored closely. 
75.	Provisional outturn figures for 2011/12 reported to the council’s Executive Committee in June 2012, show an underspend of £2.5 million which the council approved for carry-forward to 2012/13. The council’s annual accounts, however, do not show a separately identifiable reserve or ring-fenced amount relating to police. With the move to a single Scottish police authority from April 2013, current indications are that any revenue balances attributable to police authorities will be split between the new national police authority and the local authority. The council and force should work closely to ensure that arrangements are in place to identify and allocate revenue balances which may be available at 31 March 2013 in accordance with the guidance. 
76.	The convener is a member of the force’s Efficiencies Programme Oversight Group, and through this he is well informed about the action taken by the force to work within tighter budgets and the savings which the force has achieved. The PFSC recognises that it needs to take steps to strengthen its involvement and the new and extended Efficiencies and Reform Programme provides an opportunity for the PFSC to engage more in monitoring the force’s improvement activity.
77.	The PFSC was involved in recent developments of the police estate including consultation exercises about the relocation of facilities in Cowdenbeath and St Andrews. This helped allay community concerns on these changes. However, the PFSC has not been involved in the oversight of the police estate more widely. This is an area for improvement, particularly at a time when the transfer of estate will be critical in the move to the PSoS. 
78.	The PFSC receives routine performance information on officer and staff numbers, sickness absence and time invested in training activity. It also scrutinised and challenged the force’s proposals for reducing staff numbers. However, there is limited evidence of any strategic oversight of force human resource matters. The PFSC does not call for reports on workforce-related matters and the force supplies only limited data and information. 
Fife Constabulary
The force has sound financial controls in place and has achieved significant savings through its efficiencies programme. The force actively manages its workforce through a comprehensive human resources (HR) strategy that has clear links to the force policing plan. The force works closely with Fife Council, which as the police authority holds the title deeds for land and buildings, in maintaining a register of assets.
Managing finances
79.	The force budget reports show an approved revenue funding position agreed by the police authority in February 2012 for 2012/13 of £59.7 million. The force outturn for 2011/12 was £61.4 million with an underspend of £2.5 million, which is equivalent to 3.9 per cent on controllable budgeted expenditure of £63.9 million. The force intends to carry forward this underspend into the 2012/13 financial year to offset an anticipated budget gap. 
80.	The capital funding approved by the police authority for 2011/12, including the underspend brought forward from 2010/11, was £1.8 million. In addition, capital receipts of £0.4 million brought the approved total capital budget to £2.2 million. The actual outturn was £2.1 million showing an underspend of £0.1 million. It is anticipated that base police capital funding will remain at £1.3 million for 2012/13, augmented by the carry forward of £0.1 million. 
81.	The force has strong financial controls in place and sound processes for setting and monitoring budgets. Four-weekly monitoring reports are produced and considered by the Force Budget and Resource Management Group (BRMG), which is chaired by the deputy chief constable and comprises senior leaders, and the Force Finance Focus Group, which is made up of finance practitioners. Reports are also provided on a regular basis to the PFSC and to Fife Council for information purposes.
82.	The force has taken a forthright approach to achieving savings through its efficiencies programme, which commenced in 2010 in anticipation of future financial constraints. A number of potential cuts to funding were modelled, taking account of the requirement to maintain the Scottish Government’s national police officer numbers target of 1,104 officers within Fife Constabulary. The force has remodelled a number of processes resulting in the loss of a number of police staff posts all of which were secured through voluntary early retirements and voluntary redundancies. At the same time the force has freed up officer posts in support functions and returned them to frontline duties. The programme identified a number of efficiency savings with a mandate to save £2.2 million, but actually achieved overall savings of £2.8 million. The force intends to conduct a review of the programme to ensure that the efficiencies have been realised.
83.	The programme has not been without some pain, particularly for those members of staff whose posts were deleted. However, we found that the force had invested significant time and effort in ensuring the process was managed effectively, keeping affected staff informed of developments and ensuring the PFSC was represented throughout by the convener as a member of the Force Efficiencies Programme Oversight Group. This approach is to continue during 2012/13 in the transition to the PSoS. 
84.	The force has strong budgetary control but, in common with forces across Scotland, has a less developed understanding of the costs of specific policing activities. The force uses Police Objective Analysis to cost annual budgets, but does not use the information as a management tool. This makes it difficult to evaluate the relationship between the resources invested and the outcomes achieved by that investment. For example, a fuller analysis of the costs of introducing the community engagement model could have been used to identify the total cost for the outcomes achieved. Such information would also be of benefit to the PFSC as a means of demonstrating value for money.
Managing people
85.	The force actively manages its workforce through a comprehensive HR strategy that has clear links to the force policing plan and recognises people as its most valuable asset. Delivery of the priorities arising from the HR strategy is managed through the HR action plan and through initiatives such as Operation LASER (Exhibit 6). Staff are encouraged to contribute at all levels through a range of consultation bodies. The force intends to conduct staff surveys during 2012 to ascertain staff satisfaction levels in light of the ongoing Force Efficiencies Programme and police reform.
Managing assets and other resources 
86.	In Fife, the council holds the title to police buildings and land. The force and council maintain registers of physical assets, buildings and vehicles. Regular cross-checking takes place to ensure there is agreement on those assets. The force and the council are aware of the need to ensure all assets are identified for future transfer to the Scottish Police Authority, when it comes into being. 
87.	The force has committed to developing its estate to support its vision by providing a mix of facilities that are accessible, fit for purpose, efficient and flexible to meet future need. A high proportion of its accommodation is located at the force headquarters with concentrations elsewhere in a small number of larger buildings. Many of these buildings have poor performance in terms of energy consumption and their design has rendered them inflexible for future change. The force has taken a critical look at its estate and made improvements wherever possible. Most significant have been the development of shared facilities with partners such as at Cowdenbeath and St Andrews to reduce total cost and maximise accessibility. 
88.	We noted that members had been actively involved in the developments at Cowdenbeath and St Andrews and are assured that as future opportunities to develop the estate arise the force will submit recommendations to the PFSC for scrutiny.
89.	The force ICT system has suffered from a lack of investment and upgrade in recent years. This has restricted progress in some areas, such as the use of video and audio streaming to promulgate key messages and online training to staff. The force has engaged with the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA) to address this issue and work is in progress to upgrade the system. 
Planning for the future
90.	Like all public sector organisations, the force faces significant financial challenges and at the time of our audit and inspection, the force efficiencies programme, led by the chief constable, had ensured the force was in a strong position to deal with these challenges. We found that an effective governance and implementation structure had been put in place to deliver force efficiencies and that the structure has been retained and developed to include the police reform programme. This is of particular relevance given the chief constable’s decision to retire in August 2012. These sound governance arrangements will provide the force with a proven foundation to manage change during the transition to the PSoS.
Equalities
Fife Police Authority
The PFSC does not provide sufficient oversight of the force’s progress with equality issues.
91.	The PFSC does not provide sufficient leadership or oversight of equalities. The PFSC is responsible for ensuring the policing needs of the different communities within Fife are being met and it also needs to ensure that the force complies with equal opportunity legislation as an employer. However, while quarterly performance reports include two performance indicators associated with racist incidents and crimes, the PFSC neither receives nor requests information about the force’s overall approach to equalities. As a result the PFSC is not aware of progress against the force’s equality and diversity strategy, other equality-related policies or equality outcome information and is therefore unable to effectively scrutinise the force’s approach to equalities. 
92.	The PFSC would benefit from having a better strategic oversight of how the force engages with, for example, hard-to-reach groups in communities. Members would also benefit from a fuller understanding of how the Lay Advisers’ Group, which involves members of Fife’s diverse communities acting as advisers to the force on equality issues, contributes to the force’s approach to equalities in Fife.
Fife Constabulary
The force has a clear commitment to improving equality outcomes for its staff and the people of Fife, which is reflected in the Building on Success element of the force’s strategic plan 2011–15. The deputy chief constable leads on diversity and equality with senior leaders playing a key role in delivering improvements. The force considers the impact on equalities when developing strategy and policy. The force has a good understanding of its diverse communities and has developed services to meet their needs and ensure positive outcomes.
93.	The Fife Constabulary Equality and Diversity Strategy sets out the force equality and diversity ambitions for 2011–14. To support the delivery of the strategy the force has developed robust governance arrangements that are now well established. Progress is monitored primarily through the Strategic Equality Board led by the deputy chief constable. Reporting to this board is the Equality Delivery Group, responsible for the delivery of equalities outcomes. Supporting the activity of these groups is the Community Planning and Equalities Unit, which assists in the coordination of the equalities strategy and monitoring of performance. 
94.	The Lay Advisers’ Group acts as critical friends assisting in improving the service provided by the force. The remit of the group is developing. Most recently the group has been given the opportunity to review issues arising from the investigation of hate crime. Lay advisers are sent a list of hate crimes to identify the ones they want to consider. The investigating officers are then invited to present to the group the issues that they faced in carrying out the investigation. Although in its infancy and not unique4 to Fife, involving lay advisers in this way is considered to be good practice.
95.	The force has a range of systems and process in place to support the mainstreaming of equalities. In common with other forces, ‘respect for diversity’ is a core competency within the performance and development review system for staff. Equality Impact Assessments (EQIA) are conducted for new and revised polices and procedures. A select group of people are trained on how to conduct EQIA to ensure a consistency of approach and better outcomes. 
96.	The force supports the development of a workforce that reflects the make-up of the communities of Fife. There are five equality group networks which are promoted within the force to support diversity within the workplace. The composition of the workforce is changing and is in line with the other forces in Scotland. The proportion of female officers now stands at 28 per cent, which is slightly above the Scottish average. The number of officers with declared ethnicity stands at 0.6 per cent. This is below the Scottish Police national average of 1.2 per cent and that of the population of Fife, where the percentage of people that are minority ethnic is 1.3 per cent.5 We note, however, that in 12.2 per cent of cases the force has no information on the ethnicity of its staff. The force uses the national HR system (scope); however, it does not currently have the capability to use the Equal Opportunities module for staff to input and store information, which would assist in determining the equality profile of the workforce. This matter is currently being worked on and it is anticipated the system will be available later this year. 
97.	Workforce data is reported nationally on a quarterly basis through the SPPF. However, force performance reports do not contain this information and as a consequence the PFSC does not receive regular performance information relating to the diversity of the workforce. Given the progress the force has made in delivering its equalities strategy, its work with communities and through the Lay Advisers’ Group, it would be an opportunity to inform the PFSC of this activity to enable it to provide scrutiny and challenge.
Sustainability
Fife Police Authority
The PFSC provides limited oversight of the force’s overall approach to sustainability and recognises the need to do more.
98.	The PFSC considers limited information in relation to sustainability. It is aware of sustainability issues on individual projects such as the energy efficiency of new police stations and endorses the force’s carbon management plan. However, the PFSC has not yet received an update on progress against the plan and more generally has no strategic oversight of the force’s overall approach to sustainability. 
99.	Members recognise the need to make improvements in the wider areas of sustainability. The PFSC needs to identify and direct the information it requires to assess the force’s approach and to scrutinise the force’s progress in meeting its objectives.
Fife Constabulary
The force has ambitious plans to deliver increased sustainability, particularly in relation to carbon management through sharing services and rationalising assets with partners. The sustainability agenda is led at the executive level and there is evidence of early successes.
100.	Sustainability is one of the ‘cross-cutting’ responsibilities under Best Value and the force is committed to contributing to the climate change agenda in Scotland. The Association of Chief Police Officers (Scotland) approved a Climate Change Action Plan 2010–20 and Fife Constabulary, like other forces, has developed a Carbon Management Plan (CMP) with support from the Carbon Trust and additional support from Fife Council energy management staff. The final plan was approved by the PFSC at its September 2011 meeting. The force has set a target of a 21 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions by 2015 to meet the statutory target for 2020. 
101.	The force has gained some early success including the shared facility at Cowdenbeath that has improved efficiency from an F energy rating to C, achieving the 2050 carbon reduction target for that specific building. The force has also reduced its fleet emissions by ten per cent from the baseline by utilising more energy-efficient vehicles. 
102.	The force aims to embed a culture of carbon management over the next five years and beyond. The project is being managed at a senior level and a Carbon Trust data gathering tool will be used to provide monitoring and trend information. Summary performance data will be made available to the force via the business support microsite, and in due course a dedicated carbon reduction microsite; although this is still some way off because of the limitations of the force’s ICT systems. The force will need to ensure that progress is monitored and reported to the PFSC.

1	Complaints Recording Audit – Fife Constabulary, Police Complaints Commissioner for Scotland (PCCS), 2011.
2	Guidance on this topic is available in How councils work: an improvement series for councillors and officers – Using cost information to improve performance: are you getting it right?, Accounts Commission, May 2012. 
3	Chief Constable’s Annual Report Fife Constabulary 2011–2012, Fife Constabulary, 2012.
4	Lothian and Borders Police and Police Board: Best Value Audit and Inspection, Audit Scotland and HMICS, 2011.
5	Analysis of Ethnicity in the 2001 Census – Summary Report, Office of the Chief Statistician, 2004.

Part 3. Fife Police performance assessment
Performance outcomes
The force and its partners can demonstrate that performance is good, is moving in the right direction in most areas and is achieving favourable outcomes for the communities of Fife while being one of the least expensive forces to maintain. The force set a number of targets for 2011/12 in support of its policing plan objectives, which in turn link clearly to national and partnership objectives. Its performance framework enables a clear and accurate understanding of how the force is performing in relation to these objectives. There are some areas where performance can still be improved upon, particularly in relation to domestic abuse and hate crime where recent enhancements in reporting and recording provide a solid platform for future progress. 
Tackling crime
103.	Across Scotland recorded crime has been falling annually for a number of years and has fallen by over 26 per cent since 2004/05. Fife is no exception to this trend; during the same period the force has seen a 49 per cent reduction in group 1 to 5 crimes.6 This continued into 2011/12 with a further fall of 4.3 per cent in reported crime. 
104.	While it does not have the lowest rate per population of groups 1 to 4 recorded crime, it has experienced one of the greatest declines in number over the last four years. As a result, at the end of 2011/12 its rate of 396.7 crimes per 10,000 residents was well below the Scottish average of 471.7 (Exhibit 7). The biggest contributors to this downward trend have been group 4 crimes of fire-raising and vandalism, which are down by 42.4 per cent since 2007/08 and fell a further 15.3 per cent in 2011/12, and group 3 crimes of dishonesty, which are down by 20.7 per cent over the same time period but by only 0.9 per cent in 2011/12. 
105.	The detection rate for group 1 to 4 offences in Fife in 2011/12 rose to 50.9 per cent, up from 45.5 per cent the previous year (Exhibit 8). The force’s detection rates in all crime areas are consistently higher than their respective national averages. It is performing particularly well in terms of detection rates for group 1, which at 97 per cent is the best in Scotland and group 2 at 80.8 per cent is the second best in Scotland and well above the national averages of 75.5 and 67.3 per cent respectively.
106.	The force attributes its success in detecting crime to its internal performance management processes and community engagement model. Internal performance management, especially at the local area level, has ensured that all avenues are explored when investigating crime before officers close a case. The Scottish Institute for Policing Research (SIPR) reviews of the community engagement model identify that it ‘is contributing at a wider level to an improving relationship between police and communities’. We found that operational police officers believe that this has contributed to greater trust and confidence in the police to the extent that communities are more willing to help the police to identify those responsible for local crime. 
107.	The force has adopted a robust approach to tackling violent crime, with a strong emphasis on conducting thorough investigations. In addition, initiatives such as Operation LASER targeting priorities including public space disorder, the proxy supply of alcohol to youths and low-level drug dealing, as well as partnership work, such as MARAC tackling domestic abuse, have all contributed to reductions in these group 1 offences. (Exhibit 9). 
108.	For group 2 (crimes of indecency) the force has the second highest rate in Scotland, at 16 crimes per 10,000 of population compared with the national average of 13.9. During 2011/12, it set a target to encourage victims to report crimes of a sexual nature and achieve a year-end detection rate of 75 per cent. Between April 2011 and March 2012, the number of reported offences fell by 3.2 per cent with a detection rate of 80.8 per cent.
109.	The force has the lowest rates per 10,000 of population for crime in proactive policing groups. In 2011/12, the rate for group 5 (drugs and other crime) was 92.2 per 10,000 of population compared with the Scottish average of 129.7 (Exhibit 10). During 2011/12, the force increased its activity in these areas to the extent that there was a 27 per cent increase in seizures of class A drugs. Group 5 offences rose by 6 per cent or 191 crimes and a detection rate of 99.4 per cent was recorded. During the year it also achieved some notable success in targeting the supply of drugs and organised crime, seizing £34,646 of cash assets and identifying a further £1,300,572 in assets under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
Being there for the community
110.	The difficulty of achieving good response rates through postal surveys is widely acknowledged. Certainly those forces that have changed to a telephone format have enjoyed considerably greater success. In 2011/12, the return rate for Fife was 21.3 per cent, which was the lowest return rate of all Scottish forces. 
111.	In terms of the feedback it receives from those that do respond, the force had enjoyed long-term gradual increases on all the satisfaction questions and declines in the percentage of respondents dissatisfied. However, data for year ending 2011/12 show a reversal in this trend with overall satisfaction with the way police dealt with the respondents incident falling from 76.5 per cent to 72.7 per cent, and on keeping users adequately informed of the progress of their matter the rate fell from 74.2 per cent to 67.9 per cent.
112.	The force is aware of the decline in satisfaction rates and has planned a number of consultation exercises for 2012 in order to address these matters. These are a quality of service survey to ascertain levels of satisfaction of its service users; a public perception survey, which is a broader biennial survey that aims to establish local people’s views on crime, antisocial behaviour and policing priorities; and its staff survey, designed to ascertain staff satisfaction levels. In an attempt to resolve the problem of poor return rates it will use online questionnaires and seek to promote their wider uptake by, for example, establishing a link to the Fife Direct website and making direct contact with students at various colleges in the area. That said, we note that the quality of service survey will continue to be primarily postal with respondents being given the opportunity to complete it online. The force may wish to consider following up this approach with telephone contact in an attempt to improve response rates further.
113.	The force has a good approach to handling of complaints. This is discussed in more detail in the corporate assessment section (paragraphs 41–42). In recent years it had recorded reductions in the rate of complaint cases per 10,000 population (Exhibit 11). In 2011/12, this, however, rose from the previous year’s total of 8 to 9, but is still the second lowest in Scotland.
114.	The force’s ability to meet the national target of answering 90 per cent of 999 calls within ten seconds at 92.8 per cent has improved from 91.8 per cent the previous year (Exhibit 12). 
115.	With regard to handling non-emergency calls the target is to answer 90 per cent of calls within 40 seconds. Performance in 2011/12 has improved from 86.2 per cent to 89.8 per cent but remains below the national target (Exhibit 12). The percentage of non-emergency calls abandoned by the force in 2011/12 is above the national average, at 4.6 per cent compared with 3.7 per cent, although this is an improvement on the 5.8 per cent it recorded in the previous year.
116.	Although Fife Constabulary no longer sets an internal target for attending emergency response incidents, at 357 seconds per incident compared to the national average of 623 seconds, it has one of the fastest average response times in Scotland. In terms of the number of such incidents it is required to deal with, this has declined dramatically in the last two years, down from 19,352 in 2010/11 to 1,646. The force puts this down to a change in its grading procedures which saw it adopt the national standard of ‘emergency’ (thereby reducing the number of other incidents recorded as emergencies) over a year ago. 
Creating safer communities
117.	The force’s community engagement model (paragraphs 48–51), which targets priorities identified via local community engagement meetings, along with initiatives such as Operation LASER (paragraph 85) and other partnership activity have all contributed to the force’s success in reducing antisocial behaviour and associated crimes such as vandalism. This proactive approach has seen a rise in enforcement activity such as the use of antisocial behaviour fixed penalty tickets. During 2011/12, Fife Constabulary issued 1,698 fixed penalty notices, an increase of 14 per cent on the previous 12 months. Over the same period it recorded 2,289 fewer antisocial behaviour incidents (equivalent to a fall of 24.2 per cent on 2010/11) and 793 fewer crimes of vandalism (down 15.3 per cent on 2010/11). These percentage reductions are among the highest in Scotland. 
118.	The force has seen reductions in reports submitted to the Children’s Reporter, with a decrease of 73.9 per cent over the last three years, compared with a 44 per cent reduction nationally. The force attributes this success to the Youth Offender Management Group (YOMG), a multi-agency approach that diverts children from the criminal justice system into more appropriate initiatives to address behaviour and reduce re-offending. It has also, however, had an adverse impact on the length of time taken to submit reports.
119.	The national target is to submit 80 per cent of cases to the Children’s Reporter within 14 calendar days. Fife’s performance has fallen from 84.3 per cent in 2010/11 to 70.9 per cent in 2011/12 (Exhibit 13). This fall in performance is believed to be as a result of the YOMG review process, which results in only the most serious cases being submitted to the Reporter, the outcome being that the needs of these children are being addressed more quickly. This is a view supported by an independent evaluation of this process by Blake Stevenson.7 The group was also ‘highly commended’ at the Scottish Policing Awards 2011.
120.	A target of 80 per cent of cases within 28 days is in place for crime reports to be submitted to the procurator fiscal. Over the last four years the force has typically recorded some of the lowest proportions achieved, while always managing to remain above the 80 per cent target (Exhibit 13). However, its percentage for 2011/12 fell to 77.2 per cent.
121.	In light of these trends the force has put in place a number of measures to improve the quality of its crime reports to the procurator fiscal. However, subsequent delays in the submission process have resulted in the fall in submission rates observed for 2011/12. The force’s efficiencies programme brought significant change to its Criminal Justice Department, with many functions, including those associated with case management, now transferred to its Continuous Improvement Unit. The force anticipates that the establishment of this unit will help to resolve outstanding problems with submissions to both the procurator fiscal and Children’s Reporter.
122.	We note both the changes implemented by the force to improve performance in this area and its improved submission rates since then of 81 per cent of reports to the procurator fiscal submitted within time, in March 2012. However, performance is at odds with that of other forces and we suggest that Fife Constabulary continues to monitor the situation to ensure that improvements are sustained.
123.	For group 7 (motor vehicle offences) the force typically records the lowest rate in Scotland of offences per 10,000 of population: in 2011/12 this stood at 408.3 compared with a national average of 638.9. It has, however, recorded slight decreases in most categories of road casualties in the last 12 months. The number of adults killed on roads dropped slightly from 13 to 12, serious injuries fell from 109 to 72 and slight injuries declined from 510 to 408. There were no children killed on Fife’s roads during this period, but the number receiving serious injuries rose from 13 to 15 while those with slight injuries fell from 67 to 55.
124.	Nationally Fife has one of the highest rates of domestic abuse – its rate of 125 per 10,000 of population is the third highest in Scotland and sits above the national average of 114 per 10,000 of population (Exhibit 14). Furthermore, the force has shown one of the highest increases in the number of these offences over the last 12 months, from 3,844 in 2010/11 to 4,549. At 18.3 per cent this is much greater than the nine per cent rise across Scotland and is in contrast to a reported 5.2 per cent reduction in domestic abuse incidents the previous year. While it could be argued that the rise is due to better recording and reporting processes following the introduction of the MARAC process, the trends suggest that there is still work to be done to tackle this type of crime. 
125.	Although the force remains well below the national average for racist incidents per 10,000 of population, it has experienced some recording problems in this area in recent years. Specifically, a review of its systems, processes and procedures identified a tendency for under-recording, due largely to a lack of understanding of how hate incidents and crimes should be recorded correctly. 
126.	As a result the force has provided awareness training to all staff, while its community officers have received additional training in diversity and are expected to engage with all communities as part of their daily activity. It has also introduced a more robust system of monitoring hate incidents that requires individual officers to flag incidents for review by a duty inspector. All incidents are discussed on a daily basis at the local and divisional Tactical Tasking and Coordinating Group (TTCG) and weekly and monthly reviews of investigations are conducted and supported by regular dip-sampling. These changes saw a 52.6 per cent rise in recorded racist incidents during 2010/11 and a further but smaller increase of 6.7 per cent in 2011/12. Detection rates have risen from 80.8 per cent in 2010/11 to 86.5 per cent in 2011/12 and remain well above the Scottish average of 69.2 per cent. This should provide the force with a platform from which to make further progress.
127.	Over the last four years Fife Constabulary has consistently had one of the highest rates per 10,000 of population of registered sex offenders in Scotland (Exhibit 15). The force has not been able to establish any particular reason for this statistic. It does, however, continue to manage registered sex offenders and to monitor non-registered sex offenders. The monitoring of non-registered offenders is unique to Fife. It involves an intelligence-led and risk-based approach whereby the activity of those who may pose a risk to communities is subject to intelligence monitoring by community teams.
Building on success
128.	At the end of March 2011, Fife Constabulary employed a total of 1,532 full-time equivalent officers and staff, 27.6 per cent of whom were civilian members of staff. Per 10,000 population, the force’s rate of police officers sits below the average for Scotland (30.9 compared with 33.6 for Scotland), while that for police staff (14.4 compared with 12.9 for Scotland) sits above.
129.	Over the last four years expenditure per resident by Fife Constabulary has consistently remained below the Scottish average. At £164.10 per head it is the third least expensive force in Scotland, and slightly below the national average of £169.50. 
130.	In terms of sickness absence rates, at 4.2 per cent that of police officers is the same as the Scottish average. Conversely, at 3.5 per cent, that of police staff is below the Scottish average of 4.8 per cent (Exhibit 16).
131.	Over the last 12 months the force has conducted a comprehensive review of its special constabulary. Its findings revealed a number of officers who no longer turn out for duty and whose inactivity was contributing to the force’s special constabulary having the lowest average hours worked in Scotland – 66 per officer compared with 107 nationally. The review recommended the removal of ‘inactive’ special constables and the recruitment of new staff to meet the force’s requirements. In addition a number of special constables were recruited as full-time constables. This resulted in an overall reduction in the number of special constables from 128 in March 2011 to 109 in 2012, with a corresponding decline in the number of hours worked from 16,434 to 11,436. The force has held a number of recruitment initiatives to increase numbers. By the end of February 2012, 59 applications had been processed with 14 new special constables beginning training in March and a further 18 identified to start in September. We note the action taken by the force and anticipate that it will continue to expand the support it derives from its special constabulary.

6	Group 1 – Crimes of violence, including: murder, attempted murder, serious assault, and firearms offences. Group 2 – Crimes of indecency, including: rape and sexual assault. Group 3 – Crimes of dishonesty, including: vehicle crime, theft, shoplifting, housebreaking, and fraud. Group 4 – Fireraising, malicious mischief etc, including: vandalism, and fire-raising. Group 5 – Other crimes, including: offensive weapons and knives, bail offences, and drug offences.
7	Youth Offender Management Group and Youth Diversionary Programme Evaluation, Blake Stevenson, 2012. 

Part 4. Improvement recommendations
132.	Scottish police services are going through a period of major change with the Government’s announcement of the creation of the PSoS. We recognise that this is a prominent issue for all forces and have taken this into account in setting the improvement agenda. Police authorities and forces must continue to observe their duties under the Best Value legislation to ensure that police services remain effective, make the best use of resources allocated to them and are accountable to local communities.
133.	The improvement areas, set out below, focus on areas that are important to the operation of the police authority in the transition to a single force.
Improvement agenda
Joint improvements
1.	The council, in its capacity as police authority and through its revised committee structure, and the force should ensure that good working relationships are maintained and that they continue to work effectively to deliver an effective policing service during the transition to the PSoS. 
2.	The authority needs to form a clear view of how it can provide direction and scrutiny in the critical period of transition to a single force. While recognising the need to sustain performance in the year ahead, it must also make difficult decisions relating to the process of reform and a single national service. 
Fife Police Authority
3.	The authority should be more proactive in determining the aspects of force performance it wants to explore and in scrutinising the overall effectiveness of the community policing strategy; the force’s estates and workforce strategies; the force’s continuous improvement activities; and the force’s progress with equal opportunities and sustainability.
4.	The authority should ensure its involvement in setting the policing strategy and in scrutinising performance is more public and transparent. It should also develop its approach to improvement and, in particular, identify its priorities in the period leading to the PSoS.
5.	The authority should review the structures in place at the time of the audit and inspection, including the scrutiny group and its activities, and determine arrangements which secure best value both from ongoing policing services and during the transition to the single Scottish force. 
6.	The authority should continue to develop the skills and capacity of elected members and ensure a more systematic and structured approach to training, particularly for new members following the May 2012 council elections.
Fife Police
7.	The force should build on its successful community engagement model by improving the way local community priorities are communicated internally to flag priorities to a wider range of resources. To achieve this the force may wish to consider making greater use of its force briefing system and developing local priority notice boards in police buildings to flag priorities to other officers and staff.
8.	The force should address its commitment to openness and accountability by publishing force performance and policy group minutes in a timely manner. 
9.	The force could assist the committee in its role of providing meaningful scrutiny and consideration of value for money through the provision of more contextual information in performance reports on exceptions and comparative data with other forces or organisations. In addition the force could provide regular reports on cross-cutting issues such as diversity and sustainability; updates on risk management and continuous improvement activity, as well as developing information on costs through improved use of Police Objective Analysis.
10.	The force should take further steps to reduce the occurrence of domestic abuse and hate crime, where improvements in reporting and recording should provide a platform from which to begin to make progress.

Appendix 1.
Expectations of police authorities
The Scottish government has issued two main sources of guidance on the role of elected members and police authorities:
•	Circular 11/2003, Implementing Best Value in the Scottish Police Service, issued in December 2003.
•	Guidance to Members, issued in June 2007.
Taken together, these two documents set out six main areas of activity for police authorities and their members:
•	Police authorities need to pursue Best Value in tandem with chief constables who are responsible for police operations in their force. Members of the police authorities should take joint responsibility for the overarching plan to achieve Best Value and other duties in the force, and work with the chief constable to ensure that it is carried out effectively.
•	Best Value requires elected members and senior managers to develop a vision of how Best Value will contribute to the corporate goals of the authorities, inform the direction of services and be communicated to staff.
•	Police authorities are expected to demonstrate responsiveness to the needs of the public and other stakeholders. Plans, priorities and actions should be informed by an understanding of those needs. Police authorities may make clear publicly how they engage and work with chief constables, delivering and reporting on Best Value. They have a particular role to play in ensuring effective public consultation on aspects of policing.
•	It is a matter for each authority to determine how it fulfils these roles. However, one option might be for the police authorities to contribute to and endorse the chief constable’s annual plan.
•	Members of the police authorities should be able to demonstrate that they are making the best use of public resources and demonstrate an approach to review that is rigorous, robust and covers all aspects of their work.
•	Police authorities need to make sure that the force collects and reports good-quality performance data to them. Police authorities should analyse the data and any accompanying commentary. They may then want to investigate further by asking questions of the chief constable as part of a continuous discussion and review of force performance.